


A Soothing Balm

by SeaweedWrites



Series: Nonsexual Acts of Intimacy [3]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hurt Sherlock, John to the Rescue, Sleepy Sherlock, Very light hurt/comfort, flatmates, slightly silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2018-12-31 19:07:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12139125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeaweedWrites/pseuds/SeaweedWrites
Summary: I found a prompt listing of 20 nonsexual acts of intimacy. I thought it would be fun and a bit challenging to do this with Sherlock and John.This means that it is -NOT- Johnlock, this is just two best friends and roommates who have found themselves in interesting, odd, or perhaps slightly awkward situations.Prompt 9: Shoulder RubsSet: Somewhere in Season 1As usual, Sherlock gets hurt. And as usual, John is there to treat his pains.





	A Soothing Balm

**Author's Note:**

> I found a prompt listing of 20 nonsexual acts of intimacy. I thought it would be fun and a bit challenging to do this with Sherlock and John.
> 
> This means that it is -NOT- Johnlock, this is just two best friends and roommates who have found themselves in interesting, odd, or perhaps slightly awkward situations.
> 
> As much as I can, I will try to stick with canon, if I have to do AU will mark it as such.
> 
> I am intending them to be little drabbles, but if the mood and prompt strikes, they may be longer, so expect varying lengths, though I forsee them all being general audiences, if they are more they will be marked as such as well.
> 
> They will not necessarily be done in order, it will be in how the ideas come to me.
> 
> These stories are not beta-ed or Brit-picked, so all mistakes are my own.
> 
>  
> 
> On a personal note- Tiger Balm *IS* a real thing, and it *IS* amazing for helping muscle pains, but you WILL NOT get your hands totally free of that camphor smell for a day at least.

**Prompt 9: Shoulder Rubs**

**Set: Somewhere in Season 1**

**Word Count: 685**

 

 

“Oh, don't be such a baby. It's not even bruised.”

 

Sherlock crossed his arms and huffed. “If you'd been able to keep up, I wouldn't have had to shoulder him into the wall to slow him down.”

 

“It's not my fault you have freakishly long legs.” John grumbled quietly. Sherlock picked up on it though. A flash of.. something came across his face for just a heartbeat, then it was gone again, and back came the petulant child.

 

“It's not my fault you're short.” He snapped back.

 

“Come on, take off your shirt all the way. I want to rub some of this muscle cream in. It'll burn, but it'll make you feel better. John sighed.

 

Sherlock pulled off his already rucked up shirt and tossed it carelessly onto the floor while John went to get the Tiger Balm from the loo. As he returned, John shook his head at the discarded shirt on the floor. “It's worse than living with a child.”

 

He took a seat on the floor behind Sherlock, who was sitting cross legged in the middle of the flat. As soon as John opened the little tin, the scent of camphor and menthol assaulted his nose.

 

Personally, John preferred the muscle cream you could get from Tesco. His favorite was Deep Heat Maximum. But apparently Sherlock had found this stuff on a trip to Sri Lanka before he'd met John, and had sworn by it ever since.

 

The less John thought about what Sherlock would be doing in Sri Lanka, the better, he thought.

 

John took a couple of fingers and dipped it in the cream, the pads of his fingertips started to burn with that cold heat almost immediately. “Well, at least it does the job.” He muttered, before placing his fingers on Sherlock's back.

 

The detective tensed for a moment, and drew in a sharp breath. John gave him a second to get used to the feel of both his fingers and the balm that was on it, the he started to rub in slow, deliberate circles- starting small at first, then radiating outward.

 

John could feel the hard tenseness of the Trapezius muscle, and he knew he could work the Infraspinatus and Supraspinatus muscles that lay underneath it as well. There were definite advantages of being a doctor, when your flatmate insisted on running after criminals at all hours of the day and night.

 

As John's short, stocky fingers worked the balm into the muscles, he could feel Sherlock slowly unfurling, like a candle slowly melting under the flame. His whole body was relaxing and loosening. His breathing got slower and steadier, and John guessed his eyes were closed, though he couldn't see to confirm it.

 

John was just finishing with the Levator Scapulae when he heard a soft snort, and Sherlock's head snapped up, sending a new jolt of pain through the muscles that John had just worked hard on for the last ten minutes.

 

“Sherlock... were you.. asleep?””

 

“Of course not!” Sherlock snapped back petulantly.

 

John was glad he was behind Sherlock so the man couldn't see the smile on his face. “Alright.” He said, giving his flatmate's neck one last quick rub. “I'm done. Off to bed with you.”

 

Sherlock turned, his face was barely contained anger. “I'm not a child, John. I know when I need to sleep.”

 

“And I know that I just heard you wake yourself up with a snore. Off to bed,”

 

The detective stood there for a moment, trying to come up with a scathing retort. When none came he dramatically swept down, grabbed his discarded shirt, and stormed back to his room, slamming the door much louder than necessary.

 

John could only hope that Mrs. Hudson's 'evening soothers' had her out loud enough that she hadn't heard that. He put the lid back on the balm and went to the loo, spending almost ten minutes trying to wash the camphor smell off his fingers, unsuccessfully.

 

This was not the way he had envisioned this evening going.

 

Never a dull moment in 221B.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I am still working hard on the fic that seems to be doing everything it can to not be finished. But I am determined that I will finish it. 
> 
> When that is (FINALLY) done, I have the fic I did for the Camp NanoWrimo that I am VERY happy with. It is finished, but it hasn't been beta-ed. So as soon as the other fic is done, I will post those chapters as they are beta-ed and polished up. 
> 
> And on top of all that, the REAL NanoWriMo starts in November. I already know what I am going to write, and thankfully it shouldn't need a beta, so I think that I might be posting A LOT in November (as in once a day). So look out for that! 
> 
> I may be quiet here, but trust me, I have a lot of plates I'm spinning, with all this writing and my RL issues- car died, had to but a new one, and a hurricane.
> 
> Thanks again for your patience. I will be back posting for you all soon, I promise!


End file.
